If they didn't choose such a ghey brand name they might be popular and hold their resale. When they bought specialized they agreed to not sell in the USA, effectively dooming the brand
@@janeblogs324 agree regarding the Specialized reference.. I'm as straight as a arrow and don't think Merida is a "ghey" brand name. ..and yes I do own a Merida.
@@janeblogs324 Dooming it to be a cheaper brand for everyone but the Americans? Oh well, I bought one and it's been great for years and still going strong.
At his point , there are so many really good bikes that are mostly clones of one another , that it really comes down to your favorite color to decide which bike to buy
Merrida are a very underrated bike. I would love to see more reviews on lower spec models of the bikes you review as they are the most affordable for the majority of us
Im looking at a 160 because i race enduro. But i have a tight budget and will only be able to afford one bike. I was just wondering in the 160 was still playful and agile enough at slower speeds and on less steep trails which are tighter and twistier.
I literally lol'd at the cables getting shredded in the headset and I hope it happens to every bike they sell so they have to warranty every single one of them.
Hey I was wondering if you could do a review on the Vitus Rapide fs because it’s a great value and I wanted to know if it’s a good race bike and how it rides. Thanks
Please tell me there are plans to update the eOne-Sixty with this frame, geo and suspension platform? Merida specs bikes impeccably and value at least in Australia is generally unmatched by the bigger bike brands. However, most of their full suspension line up was looking quite dated but with the new one-sixty, one-forty and ninety-sx they roar back in contention if you are in the market for a new bike and don't want to pay heavily for desirable spec. I can only hope that the one-twenty and emtb stable follow suit
We hope so Sandy! It would be a logical move on Merida's behalf, and the new frame/suspension layout looks like it would work well with an e-MTB. [Wil]
Thanks Connor! Yep, we'll be getting our hands on a One-Forty soon. Curious to see how it compares given it's the same frame platform. Stay tuned! [Wil]
The Evo has a very linear back end, so the Merida is probably a bit more playful with the progressive back end and flex stays. The Evo is also an extremely good cornering bike
This could be a preview of the next gen of the Specialized Enduro, though putting flex stays on the chain stay of an enduro bike (like what they do with the Epic and regular Stumpy) is probably a recipe for broken chain stays. The Merida has the flex stays on the seat stay which will make it ride like a single pivot faux-bar bike (think Commencal), rather than a horst link FSR bike like the current Enduro and Stumpy Evo.
@@ancogbernard true, but then they compete against themselves in many other markets where Specialized and Merida are sold so why not if all the money is going to the same parent company anyway 🤷♂️
It depends where you put the flex stay. His description of how it rode for him sounds EXACTLY like a single pivot faux-bar setup like a Commencal, which means the flex stay is on the seat stay, unlike say the regular Specialized Stumpy where it's on the chain stay and rides like a stiffer version of FSR (horst link)
My guess, more active and playful on the downhills, but doesn't pedal as nice as the DW based Giant. The old Reign was fast and stable but not particularly playful
More forbidden fruit for the US market (Merida owns Specialized so won't sell Merida bikes stateside). So it sounds like the flex stays are on the seat stays, so should pedal like a faux-bar single pivot (i.e. Commencal, Polygon) and your take on the pedaling performance reflects that. The headset cable routing is definitely no bueno though.
I was onboard till they mention headset routing. Instant turn off for anyone who wants to work on their own bike. Even if it was a grand cheaper than a slash it's still not worth it.
@@mikebrewer1346.... 🙄 Yeah, obviously. The stay flexes, taking place of the pivot. But where your critical thinking is absent is the false equivalent of no pivot = more stiff. They did it because it's cheaper and trendy. You can absolutely create a pivot that is way more laterally stiff (there's a reason downhill bikes don't use flex pivots). Creating a part of the frame that intentionally flexes intrinsically means that there is also some engineered lateral flex. Otherwise it wouldn't yield vertically. In reality, there's probably no distinguishable difference in lateral stiffness, and if there is, it's not because they made it a flex stay. Same idea with dropped seat stays. CAD analysis says it flexes about 1.5 mm more than stays at the top. But any flex at all lets them make the claim
@@conman1395 No absence of critical thinking. Their claim is that the flexstay (not flex pivot) is stiffer than the configuration in the outgoing model. Regarding your unrelated rant regarding dropped seat stays if they flex more (regardless of if you think it is sufficiently different) then that would be an accurate claim. Stiffer and/or flexier are relative.
Headset cable routing, electronics everywhere, short head tube along with no stem spacers to play with. (25mm of spacers is just bairly enough) Looks to me like this bike ticks all the wrong boxes
